Cowpox is an infectious disease caused by the cowpox virus. The virus, part of the orthopoxvirus family, is closely related to the vaccinia virus. The virus is zoonotic, meaning that it is transferable between species, such as from animal to human. The transferral of the disease was first observed in dairymaids who touched the udders of infected cows and consequently developed the signature pustules on their hands. Cowpox is more commonly found in animals other than bovines, such as rodents. Cowpox is similar to, but much milder than, the highly contagious and often deadly smallpox disease. Its close resemblance to the mild form of smallpox inspired the first smallpox vaccine, created and administered by English physician Edward Jenner.
The word “vaccination,” coined by Jenner in 1796, is derived from the Latin root vaccinus, meaning of or from the cow. Once vaccinated, a patient develops antibodies that make him/her immune to cowpox, but they also develop immunity to the smallpox virus, or Variola virus. The cowpox vaccinations and later incarnations proved so successful that in 1980, the World Health Organization announced that smallpox was the first disease to be eradicated by vaccination efforts worldwide. Other orthopox viruses remain prevalent in certain communities and continue to infect humans, such as the cowpox virus (CPXV) in Europe, vaccinia in Brazil, and monkeypox virus in Central and West Africa.
[words & music by Thomas C. Hansen]
Tonight I'm standing all alone
My heart is cold as a stone
You start to cry, when I tell you why
I have to go away, but I will be back some day
There's someone whispering in my ear
They tell me dying time is near
Don't be afraid we will show you the way
There's no other place you can go
Just close your eyes, and we'll go
Open the gate, let us in
And we'll fight until we win
Cause surrender is not the thing we do
We will stand side by side
Till there's no more place's to hide
You must fall to your knees and look above
Watch the sky
The stars can tell you where you are
They seem so close but still so far
Just watch the sky
One last time before you die